Samsung Unveils New Foldable Smartphones, Galaxy Watch 4 & Galaxy Buds 2

Samsung unveiled a number of new products at its unpacked event, the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Buds 2. 

Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung’s mobile-communications business, says he has heard all the complaints and is hopeful the company’s two new foldable devices, which were unveiled on Wednesday, become more than fringe products in the smartphone market.

Galaxy Watch 4

The Galaxy Watch   in a standard version and a Classic edition is the Korean company’s first smartwatches powered by the Wear OS 3 operating system co-developed with Google.

Available in two sizes, 40mm and 44mm for the standard, and 42mm and 46mm for the Classic, both watch faces have a circular design with two buttons on the right.

Galaxy Watch 4 has several useful new gesture controls including lifting your wrist to answer a call or shaking your wrist to decline.

It also packs Samsung’s BioActive Sensor, which boasts a smaller and more compact design, 

Samsung says the new 3-in-1 sensor uses a single chip to precisely run three powerful health sensors — Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. 

Users can monitor their blood pressure, detect an AFib irregular heartbeat, measure their blood oxygen level, and, for the first time, calculate their body composition.

The Galaxy Watch 4 will be available in black, pink gold, and silver for the 40mm variant, while the larger 44mm version will be offered in black, green, and silver.

The 42mm and 46mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will only be available in black and silver.

Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will start at R6,999 for Bluetooth versions and LTE models from R8,499

There will be 40 unique watch faces to choose from out of the box, and the ability to mix and match a wide selection of colourful straps to your liking.

Galaxy Z Fold 3

The new Galaxy Z Fold 3’s flexible main screen boasts the same size (7.6 inches), same refresh rate (120Hz), and same resolution (2208 x 1768) as its predecessor, but Samsung says the screen is now 80% more durable, due in large part to the devices  new factory-installed screen protector.

Samsung has also added a Wacom digitizer layer to the Z Fold 3’s screen, which means the S Pen can be used on the device. 

Two different styluses work with the Z Fold 3. The standard S Pen Fold edition features a new nib designed to automatically retract if you press too hard, so as to protect the Z Fold 3’s flexible screen from any sort of permanent damage. The S Pen Pro, which is compatible with all of Samsung’s other devices that support stylus input, with a special toggle switch on top that you can activate when using with the Z Fold 3.

Samsung has made the Z Fold 3 more durable. The Z Fold 3 comes with an official IPX8 rating that can withstand full submersions in up to five feet of water for 30 minutes.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 boasts a Snapdragon 888 5G chip paired with 12GB RAM and offers 256GB or 512GB storage.

It packs a a triple camera array of a 12MP cameras on the rear, comprising wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses, while the cover screen gets a 10MP camera.

Samsung is using Corning’s new Gorilla Glass DX as lens covers to protect the Z Fold’s cameras from getting scratched. 

In front, the 6.2-inch cover screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus and gets a faster 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung has also redesigned the Z Fold 3’s hinge with more bristles inside to keep dust and dirt out, while using a new alloy called Armor Aluminum, which is supposedly is the strongest type of aluminum Samsung has used on any of its phones yet.

The Z Fold 3 also features the new under-display camera beneath the phone’s flexible screen. 

The Z Fold 3 will be offered in three colours, black, green, and silver and will be available in South Africa starting from R37,999.

Pre-orders for the Z Fold 3 will open on 1 September and run until 16 September, with general availability starting on 17 September.

Galaxy Z Flip 3 

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is not only more affordable but also targets a different set of audiences. 

Available in two-tone colours the Galaxy Z Flip 3 has a larger cover screen for notifications, a 6.7-inch 120Hz folding display, and a vertical camera array and IPX8 water resistance rating. 

The clamshell phone is powered by a 5nm octa-core processor paired with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage and a 3300mAh dual battery. Sadly, it does not support expandable storage.

The rear and front cameras are the same modules as on the Z Flip 5G, with a dual 12MP setup on the back and a 10MP lens on the unfolded screen for selfies. Users can also record video slefies using the cover screen.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Flip 3 runs from 1 September until 16 September and ill officially launch in the country on 17 September.

The Z Flip 3 will retail price of R22,999 in South Africa.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

Samsung also unveiled the Galaxy Buds 2. the Galaxy Buds 2 which ome in a compact wireless charging case, with the only distinguishing feature on the outside being a USB-C port for wired charging.

They feature ANC (active noise reduction) and boasts a new machine learning solution that filters out distracting background noises when speaking on a call, ensuring your voice is clearly audible.

The Galaxy Buds 2 still come with built-in touch controls, so you can pause your current track with a single tap, skip forward with a double tap, or go back to a previous track with three taps on the sides of the buds.

Samsung says the Galaxy Buds 2 will render up to 5 hours of battery life with ANC turned on up to 7 while the charging case will provide a further 20 hours of battery life.

The Galaxy Buds 2 still come with built-in touch controls, so you can pause your current track with a single tap, skip forward with a double tap, or go back to a previous track with three taps on the sides of the buds.

The Buds 2 are available in four colours, graphite, white, olive, and lavender.

Samsung also unveiled Galaxy for the Planet, the sustainability platform for its Mobile Communications Business powered by its scale, innovation and spirit of open collaboration, to take tangible climate actions across its business. 

Samsung says it has established an initial set of targets to be reached by 2025 to reduce its environmental footprint and lessen resource depletion from production to disposal of its Galaxy products.